POSCO, the South Korean steel and battery materials company, is close to securing approval under Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) for its Sal de Oro lithium project at the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a high-altitude salt flat in the Lithium Triangle at the border of Catamarca and Salta provinces.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo confirmed the application was "close to approval" on April 7 following a meeting with POSCO, describing the company as "one of the world's leading companies in steel and lithium."
Cumulative investment across all project phases is estimated at approximately $1.6 billion. The initial investment committed under the RIGI application exceeds $600 million. RIGI approval would lock in 30-year fiscal stability for the planned expansion phases.
Integrated Operations: Upstream to Downstream
The project operates across two installations. The upstream plant at the Salar del Hombre Muerto — located at approximately 4,000 meters above sea level — extracts brine and produces lithium compounds that are trucked to the downstream processing facility at the General Güemes Industrial Park in Salta province.
The downstream plant, inaugurated in October 2024 at a cost exceeding $800 million, was Argentina's first commercial lithium hydroxide plant, with an annual capacity of 25,000 tonnes per annum (tpa). Its commissioning positioned Argentina as a supplier in the critical minerals supply chain for high-end electric vehicle batteries.
A second plant — a lithium carbonate facility with a capacity of 23,000 tpa of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) — is under construction and expected to be completed by year-end. Combined, the 2 plants would bring total Sal de Oro output to 50,000 tpa across hydroxide and carbonate products.
At full operation, the project is projected to generate approximately $165 million in annual export revenues. It has already generated close to 5,000 jobs across construction and operational phases and maintains supply agreements with more than 60 local providers.